Approaches to the Contemporary Anthropology of Art
Creole Teaching, Spring Term, University of Stockholm
Thomas Fillitz, University of Vienna
Since the 1990s, the anthropology of art received several new impetuses. Predominantly, its
scope is by now any visual art, making the grand divide between Western, non-Western, and
ethnic arts superfluous, and embracing thereafter a truly contemporary horizon.
In particular, although the European/North American art world is still hegemonic within the
global art worlds-network, contemporary artistic practices, the foundation of art institutions,
exhibitions, art markets, or the role of collectors and patrons can no more be considered solely
from such a vantage point. Moreover, present researches about the collaboration between
anthropologists and contemporary artists – regarding fieldwork and the representation of
collected data – constitute another most stimulating research focus.
This lecture series, however, focuses on four highly debated topics in contemporary art
researches (art theory, art history, anthropology of art, etc.).
The first session will briefly introduce this lecture series, and then critically discuss Alfred
Gell’s concept of art and agency, namely that “art is about doing.” The second session then
turns towards the notion of “the art world,” a notion that is differently used in art theory and
anthropology. The topic of the third session, World Art Studies and Global Art, will discuss
two paradigmatic shifts in researches on art. Anthropologists partly contribute in various ways
to the former one, while terribly neglecting the latter, more postcolonial approach. The final
session deals with an area in which anthropologists, unfortunately, have largely omitted to
research on, local art markets. The focus of the presentation, nevertheless, will be on the
global market for contemporary art and aims at motivating young anthropologists to
investigate more intensively that field.
Teaching:
Basically, the teaching is a lecture series, using visual presentation (ppt). At the end of each
unit, enough space will be left for discussing various aspects.
Goal of the lecture series:
This short course focuses on several most important topics of contemporary debates on art, in
anthropology as well as in art criticism. Students attending the course will get insights into the
complexity of scholarly notions, different approaches, and a much neglected research field in
anthropology.
Marking:
Students attending the course will be requested to produce a reflection paper, elaborating on
one of the presented topics using the proposed literature (3.000 to 3,500 words incl.
bibliography).
Lectures, dates and course literature (readings in bold is mandatory)
1. Introduction and The Power of Images. April 20 in B600 10.00-12.00
- Gell, A. 1992. The Technology of Enchantment and the Enchantment of
Technology, in J. Coote and A. Shelton (eds.) Anthropology, Art, and Aesthetics.
Oxford: Clarendon. Pp. 40-66.
- Gell, A. 1998. Art and Agency: An Anthropological Theory. Oxford: Clarendon.
2. The Notion of the Art World. April 21 in B600 11.00-13.00
- Born, G. 2010. The Social and the Aesthetic: For a Post-Bourdieuian Theory of
Cultural Production. Cultural Sociology 4(2): 171-208.
- Bydler, C. 2004. The Global Art World Inc. On the Globalization of Contemporary
Art. Stockholm: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Figura Nova Series 32.
- Danto, A. 1964. The Art World. Journal of Philosophy 61: 571-84.
- Becker, H. 1982. Art Worlds. Berkeley et al.: Univ. of California P.
- Ericson, D. 1988. In the Stockholm Art World. Stockholm: Stockholm Studies in
Social Anthropology 17.
- Marcus, G. and F. Myers. 1995. Introduction, in G. Marcus and F. Myers (eds),
The Traffic in Culture. Refiguring Art and Anthropology. Berkeley et al.: Univ. of
California P. Pp 1-51.
- Stallabrass, J. 2004. Art Incorporated The Story of Contemporary Art. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
3. World Art Studies and Global Art Studies. April 22 in B600 11.00-13.00
- Belting, H. 2013. From World Art to Global Art: View on a New Panorama. In:
Hans Belting, Andrea Buddensieg, and Peter Weibel (eds), The Global
Contemporary and the Rise of New Art Worlds. Cambridge, Mass. and Karlsruhe:
The MIT Press and ZKM | Center for Art and Media. Pp. 178-85.
- Fillitz, T. 2013. Global Art and Anthropology: The Situated Gaze and Local Art
Worlds in Africa. In H. Belting, A. Buddensieg, and P. Weibel (eds). The Global
Contemporary and the Rise of New Art Worlds. Cambridge, MA. And Karlsruhe. The
MIT Press and ZKM-Center for Art and Media. Pp. 221-227.
- Van Damme, Wilfried. 2008. Introducing World Art Studies, in Kitty Zijlmans
and Wilfried van Damme (eds), World Art Studies: Exploring Concepts and
Approaches. Amsterdam: Valiz, Pp. 23-61.
4. The Global Art Market. April 23 in B600 11-00-13.00
- Fillitz, T. 2014. The Booming Global Market of Contemporary Art. Focaal 69:
84-96.
- Plattner, S. 1998. A Most Ingenious Paradox: The Market for Contemporary
Fine Art. American Anthropologist 100(2): 482-493. (see as well Plattner’s
website!)
- Steiner, Ch. 2007. The Art of the Trade: On the Creation of Value and
Authenticity in the African Art Market. In H. Morphy, H. and M. Perkins (eds.),
The Anthropololgy of Art. A Reader. Malden, Mass. | Oxford. Blackwell P. Pp.
454-466.
- Velthuis, Olav. 2005. Talking Prices. Symbolic Meaning of Prices on the Market
for Contemporary Art. Princeton. Princeton UP.